New wave of wireless technology

June 27 - Machine to machine technology, known as M2M, is growing in leaps and bounds thanks to the explosion of wireless connections. Jill Bennett reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
The future of communications technology is here...with the growth of wireless machine to machine connections...also known as M2M. The technology isn't new, what is new is the ability to use M2M with ease from a cellphone or laptop. Scott Stein, Senior Editor at CNET.com
SOUNDBITE: SCOTT STEIN, SENIOR EDITOR, CNET.COM (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"The idea of any device in your home that you've wanted to control remotely it could be your car, it could be your appliances in your kitchen it could be your entertainment center, your air conditioner if you want to turn them off, adjust them see if anything has been overheating or acting strangely, it's sort of back to the idea of Smart Appliances that we thought of a couple of years ago, but now imagine interacting with your mobile phone or having it ping back to you if anything reaches a level that's slightly unusual."
Wireless M2M is making a big impact on the healthcare industry. Patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, can be monitored remotely by their doctors - while sitting at home. Car rental companies could use M2M to monitor inventory or fuel levels in cars.
The potential for the business sector is enormous, according to Danny Bowman, President of Integrated Solutions at Sprint Nextel:
SOUNDBITE: DANNY BOWMAN, PRESIDENT, INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS, SPRINT NEXTEL (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"There is 250 million existing vehicles on the road so that alone would drive millions and as you think of smart grid and utility, connecting your home real time on a wireless network, there's over 120 million homes in the U.S. so you just start looking at a couple of these and you see how quickly millions and millions, tens of millions and potentially billions as we round out the decade. "
STAND-UP: JILL BENNETT, REPORTER, REUTERS (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"By some estimates, the number of M2M devices is expected to reach 2.1 billion by 2020, driven largely by the healthcare, transportation and utility industries - as the world of wireless evolves at rapid speed. I'm Reuters Reporter Jill Bennett in New York."

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: